Bahia Vista Mennonite Church Overseers Minutes June 8, 2015 Room 15, back of the sanctuary.

Transcription

1 Bahia Vista Mennonite Church Overseers Minutes June 8, 2015 Room 15, back of the sanctuary. Befriending all with the love of Christ through community, worship and service. Members Present: Wes Oswald (Chair) Ben Sprunger Doug Graber Danny Remchuk Mitch Helmuth Karl Hees Renee Krabbe Members Absent: Wendy Donovan Dave Kniss Pastoral Team Present: Mike Christner Roger Shenk Shirley Good Dennis Bontrager David Denison Gene Yoder Pastoral Team Absent: Congregants Present: Kayla Miller Harold & Grace Jones 1. Call to Order: Chair Wes Oswald called the meeting to order (5:00 pm). a. Introductions: Congregants, overseers & staff introduced themselves. 2. Devotional: Dennis Bontrager led in devotions and prayer. 3. Minutes: Minutes from May 11, 2015 Overseers Meeting were approved as distributed. 4. Open Floor For Members comments: Grace Jones inquired about the status of Charis and specifically asked if any consideration has been given to Charis becoming affiliated with another group such as the National Christian Counselor Association. While Charis is its own entity, and no longer under the purview of Bahia Vista or its board, Wes Oswald noted the Charis Board has considered affiliations with at least two Sarasota counseling groups and with Brooklane in Maryland. Chair Wes Oswald offered to have additional conversation with Grace & Harold following the meeting. 5. New / Unfinished Business: a. None 6. Reports: a. Monthly Pastor s Report: Pastor Roger Shenk reviewed his report and highlighted several items. Our Church Family Meetings on Homosexuality had a steady interest and peaceful dialog.

2 Pastor Roger has been watchful of the Evana Network ( which is scheduled to launch in September. He is pleased with how well Dave & Jessie Denison have taken to their roles with our youth. b. Financial Report: Mike Christner reviewed the financial report and pointed out Galen has moved all of the non-budgeted items to the bottom of the report and they will not affect the budget. In the month of May Net Income exceeded the budget by $8,346. However, year-to-date through May expenses exceed the budget by $17, Committee Reports: Last Sunday on-line giving through texting was introduced. (attached) a. Finance Committee: Doug Graber reported If we are diligent and do our jobs our congregation is eager to meet our needs. Doug noted the BV Community Builders made a contribution of $7,500. A thank you note will be sent. Gene explained that it was necessary to make an adjustment in Roger s income for the increase in tuition for Rebekah at SCS of $28.94 per pay period. b. Membership Renewal Task Force: Pastor Roger Shenk reported they are moving forward but had nothing specific to report at this time. c. Master Planning Committee: Ben Sprunger reported the Committee has concluded its assignment and will prepare a report to present at the next meeting. d. Pastor Roger Shenk s Contract Task Force: Danny Remchuk reported the surveys have been distributed to the congregation and are also available at the Info Center and on our web site. e. Bylaws Task Force: Karl Hees reported the Bylaws Task Force will meet after the vote to renew the Pastor s contract. The task force is looking for ways to make the Bylaws available to the congregation so individuals can give feedback to the Task Force regarding possible amendments. f. Charis Center Task Force: Chair Wes Oswald reported that he had a meeting with Dale Stoll and was reassured that Charis would be leaving the BV campus by July 31, g. MCUSA Task Force: Roger Reported that he is talking with other individuals to serve as a substitute for Ben Sprunger as a delegate.

3 8. Recommendations: a. That the overseers, per policy, and in consideration of the positive congregational vote taken May 31 st, appoint David Denison to the position of Youth Minister, retroactive to June 1 st. (attached) i. (M/S/C, Danny Remchuk/Doug Graber) b. That the Overseers register an opinion/indicate Bahia Vista s position on the five resolutions being proposed to delegates at the 2015 Mennonite Church USA Convention. (attached) 9. Other business: None 1) Israel-Palestine Resolution i. Not support (M/S/C, Karl Hees/Danny Remchuk) 2) Faithful Witness Amid Endless War Resolution i. Support (M/S/C, Ben Sprunger/Doug Graber) 3) Resolution on the Status of the Membership Guidelines i. Support (M/S/C, Ben Sprunger/Mitch Helmuth) 4) Resolution on Forbearance in the Midst of Difference: i. Not Support (M/S/C, Ben Sprunger/Mitch Helmuth) 5) Churchwide Statement on Sexual Abuse: i. Support (M/S/C, Danny Remchuk/Doug Graber) 10. Executive Session: None Scheduled 11. Closing Prayer: Pastor Roger Shenk led in a closing prayer. 12. Adjourn (6:45 pm) If you would like a copy of the attachments listed above please Wes Oswald at wmozie@gmail.com Upcoming Events: Overseers, Monday, July 13, 2015, 5pm MCUSA Biennial Conference, June 30-July 5, 2015; Kansas City, MO Mennonite World Conference, July 21-26, 2015; Harrisburg, PA Southeast Mennonite Conference Annual Meeting, October 2-3, 2015; Bayshore Mennonite. Secretary: Wendy Donovan Recording Secretary: Catharine Christner

4 PASTOR S REPORT TO OVERSEERS June 5, 2015 Word & Worship We continue to teach through the stories that Jesus told, as recorded in Luke. In recent weeks, as many as ten people have indicated that they were beginning or renewing their faith in Christ. May God continue to bless the telling of the gospel, and bring more and more people into the fullness of the Holy Spirit and friendship with his church at Bahia Vista. On May 31 st we concluded our Church Family Meetings on Homosexuality with a steady interest, and peaceful dialog. Almost 70 people have ordered copies of DVDs or CDs. We will look at making it available to other congregations as well, to whatever extent it serves a need. Vision & Community Relations I continue to meet with area pastors: Abundant Life, Bayshore, Bethel, Bayside, Grace, Covenant Life, Fellowship of Believers, First Brethren, Lakewood Ranch Baptist, Sarasota Baptist, Sarasota Christian, Suncoast, 360, and others. I joined six of these pastors recently to drive around Sarasota in prayer. There is such comeraderie and non competitiveness among us clearly the work of the Holy Spirit. On the national front, I have been keeping an eye on the Evana Network ( which is scheduled to launch in September. Evana hopes to be a landing place for churches that leave MCUSA in search of an affiliation that is more evangelical Anabaptist. While Bahia Vista is self supporting, and removed geographically from denominational tensions, we will feel the ripple affect of churches leaving, particularly if Lancaster Conference follows through as indicated. To date, only one church has officially committed to Evana, but it behooves us to have an understanding about this new network. So, on June 4 th some of the pastoral team and overseers met with John Troyer at his invitation to learn more. It was good to hear that they are not championing division, and plan to offer dual affiliation for churches who wish to align missionally while remaining connected to their denomination. We were clear that Bahia Vista has made no decision to leave MCUSA, and that we continue to encourage Southeast Mennonite Conference to lead the way in such discussions. Pastoral Care There continues to be opportunities for us to provide pastoral care for our worshiping community as we celebrate weddings, pregnancies and babies, graduations and family growth with challenges as well as walking with persons through illnesses and the end of life issues. Our visitation team continues to be very active in visiting our shut ins on a weekly basis. Part of the service that is also provided by Bahia Vista to those who cannot attend Sunday services is to take them the bulletin and CD or DVD weekly. This is such a great service our volunteers provide. Ministries & Operations 242 Groups. A couple groups are now being led by persons that would not view themselves as group leaders. When a need arose or an opportunity came their way to gather a group of persons together, they stepped up and did it, each finding a way to lead in a setting that is comfortable for them. While not all of us are comfortable in this type of setting, others thrive in them. It is such a blessing to see them connecting and supporting each other 1

5 Special Events. The first of our summer community events is our 2nd annual BVMC Bowl A Rama, on June 10 th. This fun social event is designed to help create relationships. The second summer event will be a work day at Newtown Gospel Chapel in July. Facilities. Our building continues to look good due to the consistent steady work of a few dedicated persons. There are a couple bigger items we will be focusing on over the summer to hopefully have taken care of prior to our heavy use months. Staff. We look forward to David and Jessie Denison stepping into the Youth Minister position. They bring an enthusiastic element into our church and we are excited to learn about their plans and dreams for our youth. Lifestage Ministries Children. WinShape is coming! We currently have 289 campers registered, and still need many more volunteers. Church members and overseers are strongly encouraged to come and take a tour of camp this year to see what it's all about, so that they have a personal understanding of it when making decisions about it next year. To set that up call Kayla at Youth. With David and Jessie Denison now affirmed as the new youth leaders, the student ministry is moving into a season of change and vision casting. The ministry will now be called "Ascend," and the Denisons are actively recruiting more volunteers to help establish a ministry centered around mentoring relationships. Informal dialogues with parents and youth have indicated interest in a youth Sunday school class, and the pastoral staff is in discussion about how to best meet this need. Two meetings, one for volunteers and one for youth parents, are being planned within the next two weeks to share ideas, cast vision, and raise awareness about the new, exciting direction the Bahia Vista student ministry is taking. Seniors. The Seniors Ministry Team meets regularly with many positive vibes. Events are planned throughout the summer months, including the churchwide special events. Thirty six seniors are registered to for the June 24th trip to the Palms Dinner Theater in Ft. Myers. There is much encouragement that the new youth ministers are so willing to be connected with the seniors. Final Encouragement I m encouraged by what s happening throughout the Bahia Vista family. People have come to faith in recent months and are building friendships here. People are hanging out together with great enjoyment. People are applying for membership. Babies are being dedicated. People who left last year have recently returned. And many other good things. There is great enthusiasm for what God is doing among us! May God continue to add to his family those who are being saved. Prayerfully, 2